Settlers attack homes and smash vehicles in Jit, near Nablus

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked private homes and smashed vehicles on Saturday evening in the village of Jeet near Nablus, a PA official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that dozens of settlers from the Israeli outpost of Havat Gilad hurled rocks at local homes and smashed vehicles on the main village road.

Clashes subsequently broke out between settlers and locals, who tried to stop them from attacking the village.

Daghlas said that the settlers attacked local farmers who were planting seedlings near the village on lands they own located close to the illegal Israeli outpost.

Locals confronted the settlers and forced them to leave the village after throwing stones.

The destroyed cars were identified as belonging to Nassim al-Sadda and Awne Nassar.

In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.